FROSTBITE | S. Rogers/B. Barnes (FINISHED)

Ice Age

She shook her head slowly, watching as even Bruce took his turn trying to lift the hammer. She found their attempts comical, as did Thor apparently because he couldn't stop himself from smiling as he enjoyed his seventh glass of beer.

"Should I try?" Steve asked her. 

"Totally. You'll lift it for sure." Janie replied, chuckling under her breath. 

Steve jumped up from the couch and rolled up his sleeves. The grin from Thor's face immediately vanished when the hammer gave way for a split second and he held his breath while Steve pulled on it with all his strength, causing the veins in his forearms to pop. Still, however, Mjolnir would not move from the table. 

Natasha refused to try and with that, the game ended quickly. Steve tried to convince Janie to give it a shot, but she refused as well. There'd be no way in hell she was worthy anyway and as Natasha said, it wasn't a question she needed to be answered. 

"Want me to take you home?" Steve asked her, taking the empty wine glass from her fingers and placing it on the table in front of them. 

She nodded slowly, feeling a sudden rush of blood to her cheeks when he got up and extended his hand to her. She accepted, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her up from the couch in a swift motion. 

A sudden high-pitched noise hit them all at once, causing both of them to stumble back in surprise. 

"Worthy..."

Janie let out a small shriek when she looked up towards the staircase. A robotic-looking figure stalked towards them, wires hanging off its bent arm and down its exposed back. She gripped Steve's forearm, pushing her flesh into his when the thing began to speak to them, its voice monotone and chilling to the bone. 

"No. How could you be worthy? You're all killers."

"Stark," Steve urged, pushing Janie behind him in one swift motion. 

"Jarvis," Tony warned the thing. 

"Sorry, I was asleep. Or, I was... a dream. There was this terrible noise and I was tangled in strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

"You killed someone?" Steve asked it.

"Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."

"Who sent you?" Thor asked. 

The sound of Tony's voice filled the room. Whatever that robot was, it was using a voice recording of Tony. Janie had trouble hearing it with Steve's body blocking her, but Bruce immediately knew. 

"Ultron!" He gasped. 

"In the flesh.  Or, no, not yet. Not this chrysalis, but I'm ready. I'm on mission." Ultron explained. 

"What mission?" Natasha asked. 

"Peace in our time."

Two flying robots busted through the walls of the penthouse as if on cue. Steve immediately shoved Janie further behind him, causing her to trip over the Aztec carpet. She fell backward, her head missing the tiled floor by only a few inches. She groaned, her eyes watering as she watched the scene in front of her unfold.  

Steve kicked the coffee table up in the air and used it as a makeshift shield against the robots that flew at him. Wine glasses, playing cards, and trail mix all came down on the ground in a hail, crashing to the floor as Steve fell backward when one of the robots hit him in the stomach. 

His back hit the ground with a thud, but before Janie could even get his name in her mouth, he was already back on his feet and ready to fight. The top button on his blouse popped open, but Steve was too busy to notice. The rest of the team scrambled to go after the robots, who were flying around the compound looking for the easiest way to kill all of them.